Bleach: Fool's Raven
by americancheeze
Summary: Follow Sado Akio as he lives the life of a Stealth Force member under Yoruichi's command. The warmth of good friends and the coldness of his enemies will reshape Sado's outlook on the world, but can anything prepare him for the sting of betrayal? R
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Welcome to "Fool's Raven", a story that takes place a year or two after Urahara was promoted to Captain and founded the research department. Yoruichi is still squad 2 captain and commander of the Stealth Force, with Soi Fon in her personal guard. I have no idea what her rank was at this point in time, but I assume she was at least in the top ten seats. As the description says, this is meant to be a bit like 'slice of life' anime but with a Stealth Force twist, each chapter covering an snippet of his life and varying amounts of time between each. Enjoy the adventures and misadventures of Sado Akio.

Chapter One: Almighty Hatching

"Sado Akio, reporting for assignment. Commander." a tall well-built man with black hair in a simple style knelt low and formally at the door as he was given the okay to make an entrance. At first I was startled by his appearance. I had expected someone smaller and more slender, the kind of person that usually joined the Punishment Force. This 'Sado Akio' seemed more suited to Squad 11. The only indication that he was suited for the Stealth Force was the fact that his shihakusho was sleeveless, a popular style among hakuda specialists.

Kneeling was the proper and formal way to have a audience with the commander of the Punishment Force, especially when the commander happened to to be the heir to the Shihoin clan, one of the six noble houses in the soul society. It was even more right to be formal considering the commander was also a captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. If any of her predecessors had ever held both titles of commander and captain, it was beyond the memory of anyone in attendance.

As right as it was to do it that way, it did not seem to sit well with either of them. The man, Sado Akio, was clearly not the type to bow to anyone, I could tell it just by looking at him. Even as he knelt there with a neutral expression on his face, it was as if his body was crying out to stand in defiance and demand proof that the person before him was worthy of such an action. The commander, Lady Yoruichi, sat on a legless like a goddess with her attendants, including myself, on hand. She had always found such formality distasteful, though why will forever be a mystery to me.

She looked to me, "Soi Fon, you still have the documents I assume?"

I bowed low, "Yes, Lady Yoruichi, of course. Here you are."

Taking the scroll in hand, Lady Yoruichi smiled at the man at the door, "Come on, you can look up now. Stay face down too much longer and the cleaning staff won't have any dust left to clean. Do them a favor and stop breathing it in."

"Yes, Commander, sorry. I'm not quite used to formalities." Akio sat up, still seated on his legs and his face betrayed an instant of shock before returning to the default state of expressionlessness. I understood the look he had worn in that moment, it was the same look everyone had when they saw her for the first time. The beauty of Lady Yoruichi is that of a goddess of the sun after all.

The commander was used to it though, to the point where she no longer noticed it. Instead she opened the scroll with his information on it and took another look at it, making sure she made no mistakes, even though such a thing was impossible for her, "Sado Akio, fresh out of the academy. Slightly above average grades overall, with very high marks in zanjutsu and hakuda. Hakuda especially," she smiled, and looked to the man, "Well, I can see why they sent you over to us for consideration."

"Thank you, Commander."

"Drop the formalities, you might be a rookie, but your record speaks for itself." she stamped the scroll with a seal and handed it to one of the other attendants, who blew the mark dry and rolled the scroll up before taking it away for the records, "I do keep things pretty tight with the majority of my men, but I think you have enough discipline to forgo such things."

"Then shall I call you Shihoin-sama?"

Well at least the man had the decency to use '-sama'. Lady Yoruichi sighed, "I'd prefer Yoruichi-san. But whatever you are comfortable with within reason is fine. Just lighten up, I have enough stuffy people around me already."

Odd, with me she had only added honorifics to her name as courtesy to me. Lady Yoruichi usually preferred just her first name with people she met. I had not often been in attendance to welcome new members – only when she met people outside the force and squad – and had to wonder if such an effort to draw a small line between the two of them was common. In retrospect, very few members, even those she told to address her informally, left off honorifics.

Akio bowed slightly again, more comfortable with the action this time. He had probably measured her as worthy in the short spans of time, at least enough so to conquer his natural aversion to submission, "Thank you, ma'am. It shouldn't really come up much. After all, names come up surprisingly little in the average conversation."

"True." she nodded, "By the way, why do you want to join the Punishment Force anyway? Very few people actually decide to join us. Do you have family in the force?"

"No, ma'am, I don't actually have any family."

"Really? Well, why are you signing up?"

Akio frowned, "When I was younger, law breaking soul reapers that were trying to escape to the world of the living killed my brother when cornered by the Force."

"You don't blame the Punishment Force?"

He shook his head, "Of course not, that would be stupid. Those reapers chose to break the law. They didn't even have a good reason, it was just something as stupid as greed. People willing to destroy just for a profit deserve to die. My brother dying was an unavoidable tragedy."

"Hm, you're a very reasonable fellow."

"I've had a lot of time to think about it since, though I never did blame the Punishment Force. They couldn't help not being fast enough. I hear one of the members that saved me later achieved bankai and even made captain recently. Clearly he's been training since. That's proof that those squad members were trying. They weren't just sitting on their butts, the skills they used were the best they had. How could I blame them?"

"Ah, so Kisuke Urahara was the one who inspired you to become a reaper?"

Akio nodded, "My goal in joining the Stealth Force is to catch up to him in skill. I want to be as strong as him and get to that point faster."

"Why?"

"Compared to those men I was impossibly weak, so the logical course of action to make up for that is to become impossibly stronger than they were. Captain Urahara is my only living comparison."

Lady Yoruichi looked concerned, "I doubt your brother would want you to kill yourself trying though. Kisuke has a pretty big head start."

"I have no intention of dying or permanently injuring myself. I plan on living a good life as well. Like I said, I've had time to think it over."

The commander smiled, "Good.... Now, on to the matter of your station. I'm accepting your request to be assigned to the Punishment Force, and I'm also assigning you a place in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. As you probably know, squad two is the muscle of the Punishment Force, guarding any arrested and deploying when the Punishment Force would for any reason be too slow in arriving. That is on top of the usual soul reaper duties."

I wasn't surprised really that he would be placed immediately, Akio's spiritual pressure and grades in the academy qualified him for a seated position right off the bat after all, he had even managed to reach shikai before he left the school. Such a thing wasn't rare, but relatively few graduates each year could boast that (A/N: Kinda like graduating with honors from a normal school).

The commander went into specifics, "As far as your rank in squad 2, we recently lost our tenth seat. If you can prove yourself better suited for the position than our eleventh, then you can have the spot."

"But, Lady Yoruichi, no one straight out of the Academy has ever been placed higher than 12th seat in any squad." I spoke up, mostly out of shock.

She shook her head, "Actually, you're forgetting Kaien Shiba. He was placed as a 4th seat in squad 5 a few years ago. A few others before you're time placed high as well."

I bowed, "You're right, Lady Yoruichi. My apologies, I spoke out of turn."

The commander sighed, and turned back to the silent Akio, "Anyway, this is Soi Fon. She may be a bit awkward, but she knows her stuff. I'm putting you under her care for the time being and since she is under mine, that carries to you as well.

"You honor me, Lady Yoruichi." Akio and I said in unison, glancing at each other soon after in embarrassment, though his seemed far milder than my own.

Lady Yoruichi and Akio both chuckled at the mishap, causing me to shrink a little. A great start to the first big responsibility she had assigned to me. After regaining her composure, Lady Yoruichi continued, still with a big grin on her face though, but that wasn't all that uncommon, "I believe very strongly in grooming the exceptional very closely. We'll see how you do with your training and in typical duties before assigning an official place in the Punishment Force." She snapped her fingers. Another attendant picked up a uniform and walked gracefully over to Akio to present it to him, "Your uniform for official duties."

"Thank you. If that is all I would like to get that 10th seat evaluation done with."

Lady Yoruichi smiled, "You don't want to wait and train a bit? You think you can do it now?"

"So do you, otherwise you wouldn't have bothered giving me a chance immediately. I've only got two questions."

The smile on her face changed slightly. She was mildly impressed? "Shoot."

"First, will there be any restriction on use of our zanpakuto?"

"No."

"Alright, then second, is this going to be a spar, full contact, or to the death?"

"You sound like you don't have a problem with any of them."

"If I was averse to killing other soul reapers I wouldn't be joining the Stealth Force."

"True, but let's just keep this full contact. I don't believe in pointless killing, but the two of you can go all out short of killing each other."

"Alright, thank you. Aside from where to go for the fight, that's all I need to know."

"What about your foe's fighting style? Weapon of choice? Shikai? Don't you want to know any of that?"

Akio shook his head and grinned lightly, "Of course not, that would ruin half the fun."

"Ha, ha, of course. What was I thinking?"

"You wouldn't have told me anyway."

Lady Yoruichi paused at the sudden and blunt certainty in his statement, then resumed smiling, "You got that right, I was testing you and you caught me. Head down to the courtyard and I'll send word to your opponent."

"I'll be going then." Akio bowed low again, "Yoruichi-sama, Soi Fon-sama."

I blushed at the wasted honorific, then flushed an even deeper red when I saw that Lady Yoruichi was regarding my reaction with amusement. In my awkwardness I barely noticed Akio was still sitting there with an uncomfortable and embarrassed look on his face, "Um... why are you still sitting there?"

"Err...um...," He chuckled at himself, "...my legs fell asleep."

Lady Yoruichi was instantly beside herself with laughter. Personally, I had to wonder if he was ready for what she was giving him. After all, in many squads the top ten seats were distinctly stronger or more reliable than seats eleven through twenty. This was especially true of squads two (the vanguard of the Stealth Force) and eleven (the first line of defense for the entire Soul Society). Even if he was stronger then the 11th seated Camino Watanabe, was he worth the 10th seat?

It didn't take long for the fight to be arranged and a crowd to gather in the courtyard.

"Eleventh Seat Camino Watanabe reporting for the evaluation, Captain Shihoin." a plain looking man with a hair style typical among the samurai of the world of the living knelt before his captain respectfully, "I appreciate the opportunity, ma'am."

Across the courtyard, already in position, Sado Akio looked at his opponent with an amused look, almost as if he were trying not to laugh at him. It wasn't the hair, as strange a style as it was, for Akio had regarded Watanabe's appearance with indifference when he'd arrived. It had to be something the eleventh seat had said. Taking into account Akio's clear confidence in his own abilities, I replayed everything Watanabe had said in my mind. The eleventh seat was casual, he seemed to think he was going to breeze through the fight. To a man who thought he had the skills to win and there was no chance of failure, the other side acting the same _would_ seem comical.

Lady Yoruichi nodded to the eleventh seat, "Your opponent is a new recruit with good spiritual pressure and high marks in the academy. Both good enough to make him deserve the post. Take that into account as you take your stance."

Watanabe smiled, not taking the Captain's advice seriously. It made me sick, "Thank you Captain, I'll give it my best."

As the man strode over to his place on the battlefield and drew his blade, Lady Yoruichi already looked bored. She spoke to me without turning, "So... your thoughts?"

I tensed up immediately, and had to swallow hard to make sure my words came out right, though my voice was still squeaky, "Well, they are both going into the match thinking they can't loose, but I think Akio is going to win." I swallowed again, "I remember you told me once that the most certain way to lose is to think your opponent is beneath you. Akio seems more careful. He's certain he can win but Watanabe might as well be walking in with his eyes closed in comparison."

"Ah, you've been people watching like I told you." she smiled, proud of me. I blushed at the praising smile, "The ability to properly measure your opponent is the key trait necessary not only to assassins, but all warriors. If you can't read your opponent, you can't win."

"And Watanabe isn't doing that."

"Nope, not even half trying to. If you were watching Akio when the crowd started talking about Watanabe's approach, he went on the alert, studied his target from the moment the eleventh seat arrived. Akio is smiling right now because he knows he's got the edge. He knows exactly the same thing I know having compared their skills and attitudes: This fight is already over. There's not even going to be any challenge to it." Sighing, Lady Yoruichi stood up and addressed the two combatants, "Okay, rules are simple. Full contact, try not to kill each other. You can release your zanpakuto if you feel the need to. Ready?"

Watanabe clasped his katana in both hands and nodded, "I am, but my opponent has yet to draw his blade."

It occurred to me then that I hadn't taken the time to see what Akio's sword looked like, some soul reapers had different sealed states to their weapons after all, there was even a captain who preferred to keep his blade the size of a knife. Watanabe had a standard katana sized zanpakuto. However, Akio wore a shorter blade more the dimensions of most Stealth Force members but slightly more curved. Other than that it also bore a strange hook on the dull back edge of the weapon against the hand guard. It reminded me of something. At the time I could not place it.

Akio shrugged at the comment about drawing his weapon, "My blade isn't for friendly fighting. I'm fine like this."

Watanabe snorted in annoyance, "The nerve!"

Yoruichi looked to both of the men, "Anyway, being the duel!"

Watanabe came forward and raised his blade, coming down in a downward strike that was like lightning, both in force and speed. It was impressive for an 11th seat to be sure, but more impressive was that Akio had stepped aside casually, so much so that someone just coming up would think he was there at the start. The katana turned and came to the side for a slash, but Akio was already moving and just outside Watanabe's range of motion. With his arms at his side he looked more like an instructor observing a student in disgust than a combatant.

His foe pivoted and his blade came around and down in a single fluid motion, the delay would be invisible to a lesser warrior, but to me and most assuredly Lady Yoruichi, it seemed as slow as a practice drill. Akio was reading the moves just as easily, as he was already out of the way of the strike when it came.

"Time out." he said with disgust.

"What?" Watanabe was perplexed and annoyed, the fool still had not realized how outclassed he was.

Akio looked at Lady Yoruichi, "Is this really your 11th seat?"

She nodded.

"Hm. I thought you were giving me an honor. Turns out you were insulting me. You owe me an apology later, Yoruichi-sama."

Watanabe, enraged at the insult, readied himself, "You dare insult me? You're just a rookie reaper! Take your stance!"

Akio took no stance at all, "You insult your sword with moves like that. You owe your life to that weapon, and you repay it like that? Come, I'll silence the foul tongue of your technique."

Another downward strike was what Watanabe intended, but Akio thrusted the palm of one hand forward, stopping the swing the instant before it would come down. "Too high!" suddenly, in a move too swift for Watanabe's eyes, Akio grabbed the handle of his blade in a reverse grip (A/N: A style mostly used for knives seen all the time in Naruto when they wield kunai.) and brought it across his foe's wrists, a move that would have probably come quite close to removing Watanabe's hands if the striking blade had not still been sheathed.

Without hesitation Sado Akio followed with a kick to the man's chest, sending the target flying backward, "Not solid enough." He grabbed the dominant arm, the sword arm, of his opponent and in a fluid trinity of movement yanked Watanabe towards him, slashed the tendons of the elbow and came back for a stabbing motion across the throat that the greater curve of his blade turned into a slash. The next combination had Akio still holding the arm and going low for a gutting strike across the stomach and a stab to Watanabe's kidney. If Akio had unsheathed his sword, Watanabe would be finished many times over already even though only moments had passed.

I could see why Lady Yoruichi gave him the chance, he still had a way to go in spiritual pressure and speed, but he was easily skilled enough for a seat in the top ten ranks of the squad. With some polish he could go places. I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth, I wouldn't let him get by me. He would close the distance between our current skills quickly with the guidance of the commander, of that I was certain, but I would never let him surpass me. I would widen the distance just as fast!

Watanabe backed away, and Akio let him go. The warrior still refused to accept how far outclassed he was. Even though he sheathed his sword it was only because it had to be sheathed to release his shikai. It was a weakness not many reapers had, but it spoke volumes of Watanabe. Having to do that meant you mostly fought with your shikai and most reapers tried not to rely on it too much. It dulls technique. The 11th seat was evidence of that, affected by the fact even more since his shikai was stronger than most.

Akio backed up, putting himself two strides outside normal striking distance and slightly off to the side, seemingly reading the intent as he had his foe's movements. The new position would make a strike at him awkward given Watanabe's stance, even if the shikai had a long reach. Regardless, the officer made no attempt to adjust his footing. In his eyes it wasn't necessary, "Split everything in two, sunder even the rivers, 'Iyashii Bure-do'!" (A/N: Greedy Blade.)

He drew the sword for an underhanded swing, the suddenly ten foot long blade passing through the ground like it wasn't even there and coming up at Akio, who dodged to the side easily. If he had known what was coming he probably would have dodged wider. Unfortunately, he had no way to know that when Watanabe placed both hands on the sword once again and rotated the edge to face him, it wasn't for a second slash.

"What?" Akio, still moving aside from the first attack, stumbled towards the weapon, the blade cutting through his clothes and into his flesh like a rock splits the path of water. Only driving his zanpakuto against the blade stopped the progress of the cut into a mortal wound. Even then the sheath might as well have been air.

Watanabe paused to brag rather than attack again, "How do you like the power of my zanpakuto? My spiritual pressure pulls anything that comes close over the edge."

Akio grunted as he struggled, and failed, to move away from the blade. Only his sword kept Wanton Edge from killing him, "I see, so anything with less spiritual pressure and softer than your sword gets split in two without any real effort on your part. Quite a weapon, I see now why you're so bad at zanjutsu."

"You talk big for a whelp." Watanabe pulled back his sword to ready a second attack.

Lady Yoruichi smiled, eyes riveted to Akio in anticipation, "Sado is better than Watanabe, that's clear. But can he beat Iyashii Bure-do?"

I was curious too. Certainly Akio would release his shikai in the face of such a weapon. What would it be like?

"No, he won't." Lady Yoruichi said, anticipating my thoughts, "You heard what he said earlier about Watanabe insulting Wanton Edge with poor skill. Look at him. Sado's the type who would rather die than draw his blade against someone like Watanabe." She stood up suddenly as Akio shifted his grip on his blade to hold it by the hook on the guard.

In that moment it occurred to me what the hook had reminded me of: the grasping foot of a bird, and that was how Akio was holding his blade, like it was a bird. At first I thought that was how he called on his sword, but then he tossed it over to Lady Yoruichi, forsaking his only defense against Iyashii Bure-do. The breeze picked up suddenly and there was a change in the atmosphere. The fight suddenly felt like a death match."Hold this for me please, if I use it against this guy it will never forgive me. You also might want to call squad four."

Watanabe seethed in anger, "You think you can injure me that badly with no weapon? Don't insult my Iyashii Bure-do with your idiocy!"

Watanabe was so blind in his own arrogance that he didn't notice Akio's spiritual pressure rising, "You do a fine enough job of that. Remember when you insult me that you had to unleash your shikai against such a lowly enemy. In truth, this fight was over before it began, and you refuse to see it or why. So if I can't turn aside the blade of someone with less sight than a blind man, I don't deserve to wield a zanpakuto. If I can't kill someone like you without my sword, I don't deserve my limbs!"

"You're worse than a whelp, you're a fool!"

"Come! If your blade can split me now, then I am a fool. A dead one at that! But if you can't kill an unarmed man in one stroke with such a blade, you deserve neither it nor your life!"

Odd, Akio was more hot-blooded than I had originally believed. Considering how calm he normally was, it came as a bit of a shock.

"So be it then! I'll destroy you for your insolence!" Watanabe lifted his blade high for a downward strike, "HAAAAAA!"

Akio dodged to the side, grabbing the flat of the blade before Watanabe could turn it, keeping its power from being used. "What's wrong? You've got two hands, I've only got one on it. Can't turn it? Maybe you should have the sense to stand closer! At this distance you can't apply much torque at all. If you had any idea how to use this thing right I wouldn't be standing here holding it casually in my hand!" Finally, Watanabe came to the realization that his skills had slipped. His face was one of a man suddenly shot with an arrow for no reason. His pressure lost all focus. Akio's was as sharp as ever, and stronger than it had started, "If you can't use it, I WILL! ARRAAHHHHH!" a single strike to the flat of the fragile blade with the palm of Akio's free hand was plenty to break it. The sword known for splitting things in two had met that very fate itself.

In a sudden dash Akio brought the captured half towards the neck of his opponent. I expected Lady Yoruichi to intervene, she was far more than fast enough to stop him. She made not a twitch however and I swallowed hard when the broken blade came across Watanabe's throat... harmlessly. I couldn't tell from the angle I was at, but Akio must have deliberately swung short of the mark, throwing the blade down instead. There was fresh blood on it, but it was from Akio wielding the exposed blade without a handle, not inflicting a wound

"I win." Akio said, neutral expression returning as blood dripped from his hand. He looked at it and sighed, "I should really be less dramatic about this kind of thing."

Hanging Akio's sword on one finger, Lady Yoruichi applauded him, "Well done, Tenth Seat Sado Akio." A member of squad four that had been waiting nearby came forward and tended Akio's hand and side. I wasn't sure if it was a testament to skill or stupidity that Akio was the only one with injuries worse than shattered pride."

Lady Yoruichi held out his zanpakuto to him, "It's called 'Tawakemono no Karasu' right?" ("Fool's Raven")

Akio nodded.

The commander smiled, "Suits you."

Looking at Watanabe staring blanking at his broken sword in shame, I realized the main point of the evaluation. To her, Akio was obviously suited for the tenth seat from the start. The test not only showed that to the rest of the squad, but it had hopefully corrected a problem with the 11th seat. After losing like that, Watanabe would either try harder once more, or quit. Either outcome fixed the problem.

Truly, Lady Yoruichi was a masterful leader.

* * *

_Yoruichi's Perspective, The Next Morning..._

"Yoruichi?" Kisuke looked my direction, confused for a moment as he looked up from his work, but then he smiled warmly. It was the exact same smile he'd had since we were kids, in fact even though he was an adult, he looked twelve again suddenly, "You don't often come around the lab. What's this about?"

"Well, I was just coming to see you and you weren't in your office."

"Anything important or is this just social?" he grabbed his gloves and waited to see whether or not he should take them off.

"Nothing too important. I just wanted to check some numbers with you and talk about the past."

He raised an eyebrow, briefly in deep contemplation before slipping the gloves off and smiling, "Okay, I've got time." Kisuke turned to a nearby colleague in a white and black mask, "Kurotsuchi, I'm sure you can handle this right?"

"Of course, we're only in the observation stage at this point. What do you take me for?" the man replied in a voice I could only describe as insidious, "The sample should keep just fine, if there's anything I'll notify you and end up handling it before you get here. Like the other times."

"Good to know." Kisuke ignored the harsh words and walked my way, motioning for me to follow him, probably to his office. When we arrived, he sat down at his desk, "What's this about numbers?"

I grinned, "Well, I recently got an interesting recruit in my squad and he happens to be a big fan of yours."

"Really? You'd think he would have joined my squad then"

"Actually he's a fan of your work in the Punishment Force. A fan in the 'I must beat him completely' kind of way."

He laughed, "Well, I've never had one of those before. Maybe I should write this down and celebrate each year."

"The numbers I wanted to check are the dates you achieved shikai, flash step, manifestation, and bankai. He wants to do each one faster than you did. I want the numbers to keep track of his progress."

Smiling he pulled out a journal, "So he's that interesting? You actually think he can do it?"

"I actually think he might be on the verge of manifestation if he isn't there already."

Kisuke dropped the journal from surprise, thankfully it fell to his desk, "That fast?"

"He faced down the shikai of an 11th seat unarmed because he said his sword would feel insulted."

He frowned, flipping through the book, "Ah, so his sword's one of those. He might not be near manifestation, but I think he'll end up capable of it. Nobody can think of their sword like that and not be. I always feel sorry for that type of person. Their swords usually end up being very demanding and somewhat cruel to them." Offhandedly he pulled a file off the shelf and handed it to me, "Here, an account of a bankai trial I got from an old journal. The captain of squad 5 right before Captain Suzunami I believe."

I flipped it open and read it. The trial was too brutal to repeat here, "My god. He actually survived that?"

"Barely."

"That was worse than yours and you said yours would be especially dangerous due to the new method you were using."

Kisuke nodded, "My sword is actually not that demanding of me, at least compared to some. I just have to have happy thoughts and quench the odd blood lust. The only reason mine was so taxing was because of my method."

"Hm. So you think my new recruit is going to have a bad time when he reaches bankai?"

"Yep." he was jotting down some numbers, "I note that you said 'when' and not 'if'."

I grinned, "Hey, we both have eyes for talent you know. I can tell he'll get it. It may take a long time, but he'll be there one day."

"You think he can beat my record?" my friend asked sheepishly, handing me the requested dates.

I shook my head, "No, not really. Especially since he clearly can't use the same cheat you did."

He laughed, beaming from the off-handed complement, "So who is this young prodigy that idolizes me enough to want to beat me half to death? If I may ask."

"Sado Akio, I placed him in the 10th seat of squad two right away."

"So he's already tied me on that one. Are you sure you weren't helping the kid out?"

"Nope, you should see what he did to my 11th seat in a spar yesterday. Poor Watanabe hasn't spoken a word to anyone since." I grinned, having looked at the dates and found a means of teasing my old friend, "Oh and according to the time it took you to get to shikai, he tied you there too."

Kisuke, amused at the idea of a prodigy trying to catch up to him, wracked his brain for a face to the put with the name, "Sado Akio... I've heard the Akio family name before. And you said it was from my force days? What seat was I at the time?"

I shrugged, "Not sure. But he said four reapers being chased for murder and extorting money from commoners killed his brother before you came to save the day. Sado painted it as if you snatched him from the very maw of doom."

"Oh, that one. I remember that one. Now that the pieces of the picture are together in my mind I remember him now too."

"Really? You barely remember your own squad members half the time." I chuckled.

"Don't exaggerate. I know every one of my squad members names. I just keep forgetting their ranks." he smiled, as if I should congratulate him for being absent-minded, "But yeah I really do recall Sado. I was 6th seat at the time I think and higher ranked in the force. I hadn't quite gotten my Flash Step down yet. I felt bad about it until I finally got the technique down. Once I knew it wouldn't happen again I could forgive myself a bit."

"Oh yeah, I remember that. You kept me up for three days straight helping you."

"Sado was a little one at the time but what struck me about him was how he reacted. He didn't seem sad or mad. The kid had the strangest look, like he was recording the whole scene for reference or something. It was weird that he would etch me killing four murderers in his mind. I kinda went a little wild on them too after what they did to the brother."

"Hm."

"Be careful of him." He looked at me with a deadly serious glint in his eye, "A kid like that growing up with a goal like that... I'm worried."

"About what?"

"How sane he really is."

My grin vanished, "Now you have me concerned. Someone like you looking so serious about someone's mental state when you laugh at the mention of your assistant's madness?"

"Mayuri's just an impatient over thinker with no concept of the value of life. He's relatively harmless." leaning back in his chair he continued, "Sado could very well turn into a sociopath, a sociopath trained to hunt and kill soul reapers."

I shook my head, thinking about how awkward the kid was, "I don't see it. He's incredibly serious sure, a little reckless maybe. He's not crazy, well at least not any more than the usual."

Kisuke shrugged, "I've never met him, so I don't know. I'd certainly like to though, since he's interested you and is my number one fan. When you're done torturing him, tell him to stop by."

"Ha-ha-ha. Yeah sure. I'll be careful too." I held up the note with the information on it. "Thanks for the points of reference."

* * *

_Sado's Perspective, Elsewhere..._

I stood calmly as Soi Fon explained the basic principles we would be working on in the coming weeks. She was taking her task as my instructor far too seriously but of course was doing a good job of it. The nervousness she was feeling was clear though, and I guessed she wasn't used to interacting with people outside of her family or Lady Yoruichi. Part of me suspected that was part of the point in giving her the job.

"So, Sado Akio," she wasn't sure how formal to be with me, cementing the fact that I was her first trainee, "I'm sure you know the four principles that make up the techniques of a soul reaper."

"Yes. Zan, or zanjutsu, which is zanpakuto technique. Ken, also known as hakuda, which is hand-to-hand combat. So is movement, or hoho. Lastly is Ki, which are spells we call kido."

She nodded, "Very good. I see you were paying attention in your classes. I thought we would start with bolstering your weak points first. You seem well enough versed in zanjutsu and hakuda skills, but I couldn't help but notice your footwork."

"I apologize, my style is a bit more stationary than most. It comes with specializing in counter and reversal maneuvers."

It seemed like my statement had made some of the pieces of a puzzle assemble themselves in her mind, "Ah, so that explains it. No wonder you handled Watanabe so easily."

"Naturally. A counter specialist would make someone with sloppy skills seem terribly weak."

Soi Fon nodded, "Unfortunately, not everyone is so easy to take advantage of. This is the very reason you need to master hoho. Your speed is lacking. All the technical ability in the world doesn't matter if you can't follow your foe's movements or even move with the same speed."

It took me a second to realize I was on my back. When the realization finally reached my brain I grunted in pain. What happened? I was just suddenly feeling pain in my shoulder and back and lying down on the ground behind my instructor, "Agh! Point taken." I climbed to my feet, "Some kind of shoulder throw right? Amazing how I never even felt you grab my arm."

She blushed a little from the compliment but seemed angry for some reason, "I'm not even all that fast. Lady Yoruichi can do that to me."

Whoa, I'd gotten the vibe that the commander was powerful, and I'd seen captains in battle before, but that kind of speed, blindingly fast to someone blindingly fast to me, seemed completely impossible. I hung my head low. What was I even doing in the Force if I was so slow? Soi Fon was about to say something, but I unintentionally butted in, looking to her with determination, "I need to get faster. How long until I can be as fast as you?"

"That's impossible to tell, but it could take years. I'm the 4th seat of the squad after all, you're 10th. There's a big difference in power levels at each rank of the top ten."

I thought about it, "So you're the 4th strongest person in the squad... that means there's the third seat and the lieutenant between you and Lady Yoruichi in strength... and five people between the two of us." I sighed, "Puts things in perspective nicely, you're so much stronger than me."

Soi Fon frowned, "Enough self-pity, there's no room for that in the Punishment Force. We'll be starting you on a training regiment and get you on the way to a proper speed."

I nodded. I'd have to pay very good attention to the training method, and do it twice as much. I needed to get faster, and fast. There was no getting by it.

Next Chapter: Spreading Wings

In the next chapter, Sado Akio faces off against a superior challenge and the shikai release of his zanpakuto 'Tawakemono no Karasu' spreads its wings. What is the true form and power of his zanpakuto? Stay tuned as you will soon learn that and more about the young prodigy.

Today's Featured Weapon: "Iyashii Bure-do"

Sealed State: Katana, plain in appearance.

Shikai: The blade simply extends to slightly over double the original length. At the wielder's former skill it would gain a golden-hued aura that seemed to flow over the blade as the sword moved or its power was used. The sword did not have this trait anymore by the time of this chapter.

Shikai Ability: The wielder's spiritual pressure extends along the blade length and draws nearby things of less pressure over the edge, splitting anything softer than his blade. Both the pull and the blade density are determined by the ability of the wielder, so the potency of this power hinges greatly on the wielder maintaining and increasing skill. One can assume it was once stronger than its current level.

Bankai: (not achieved)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Spreading Wings

"Ha-ha! So it's true!" Yoruichi laughed heartily as she strode gracefully into the squad 4 outpost I'd not long before woken up in, "You really did pass out, Sado!"

I shot to my feet when I realized who'd come to see me, "Shihoin-sama! My apologies I-"

"Hm?"

"I mean, Yoruichi-san."

"Better. It's been two years and you still slip on that when I startle you."

"Maybe you should stop startling me?" I quipped. She laughed, but I looked at my feet in shame and annoyance, "Regardless, I have to apologize... I still haven't gotten my Flash Step anywhere near learned, much less mastered."

The captain sighed and smiled warmly at me, despite her aggravation, "I swear, you act just like Soi Fon when it comes to your training and self-confidence. You're doing just fine."

"No, I'm failing completely. I've been working on it for months and try as I might I can't stop shooting off in random directions. Don't even get me started on the fact I can't consistently stop. The fact I'm here is a testament to that."

"Ha-ha! Yeah. I'm gonna make you fix that wall by the way." the Cheshire grin on her face was warm and forgiving, but I knew she meant it.

I looked away from her face, trying my best not to blush. Even though I'd been working under her for a while, I still hadn't gotten used to just how attractive she was. There was something just innately alluring about her, a kind of raw sexuality that seized me and fought tooth and nail to make me yearn for her. At least my self-control had improved a great deal. I recall not being able to stand up right away when I'd first met her because I'd gotten a... well... you know... stiffness in a certain body part besides my legs. I had to wonder if every man in the squad or Force had the same problem, or if I was just a pervert.

The curvaceous captain laughed again, something she did often, "You spend too much time with Soi Fon after all. You even have the same look away and blush thing she does."

Crap, I hadn't stopped myself from blushing after all. "Well. I'm embarrassed. My captain finding out I screwed up so bad and all, then acting fine with it. I'd feel better if you were madder about it."

"Oh lighten up. It takes time to learn that skill. It's a pretty advanced technique. You've done well just getting to where you could try learning it so quickly." Yoruichi tried not to laugh, but she couldn't help it, "Though honestly, it's been a while since someone's been so stubborn that they beat themselves unconscious from running into things too much."

Even I had to chuckle at that fact, "He-heh, I guess I need to take it easier, injuring myself isn't a very productive thing." Looking down at the bandages on my hand I frowned hard, "Yeah... I really should just relax."

The captain noticed my hand and the smile on her face changed to a great deal of concern. She didn't say anything, even though I knew she wanted to. As experienced of a leader as she was, I imagined she knew why my hand was hurt.

Seeing her worried and knowing she knew about my moment of weakness was quite painful, "I'm sorry... I kinda raged about it a bit... but I'm fine. Just needed to vent I guess. It's not bad."

"You shouldn't take it so seriously."

I nodded, "Yeah... I'm ashamed of myself. A soul reaper shouldn't let themselves get to the point that they loose themselves to anger. Punching tha-"

She smacked me on the back of the head, hard, the fact my head was still throbbing and the force of the blow nearly floored me, "Enough of that soul reapers duty crap! I'm talking about you, the person, not you, the reaper._ Sado Akio_ should relax more, and _Sado Akio_ should learn to take his time. You don't have to do everything so damn fast you big moron."

"I-"

"Don't think I haven't noticed you doing extra training. You promised to live a normal life too remember? What happened to that?"

She was mad, ironically about me taking my job too seriously and not the failing. I would have laughed, but my head hurt too much, "I found out how weak I am."

She sighed, "Listen, you've got all the time in the world. Don't worry so much about catching up to Kisuke. You'll drive yourself mad. As you can imagine, insanity will slow you down, then all that extra work will be useless. So just go easy okay?"

"But-"

"Believe me Sado, you'll get it. Being so good at the other things you had to expect being worse at others. Even if it takes longer than most, you'll get it I'm sure."

"But-"

She smacked me again, "You can make up the difference somewhere else, in an area you're better at. Just focus on getting it down, not how fast you're doing it. You've already made damn good progress as I said."

I sighed and Yoruichi raised her hand, threatening to slap me again, "Alright! Alright! Geez, you don't smack anyone else."

"Don't blame you needing a good smack on me." she joked, the grin returning to her face.

I laughed, "Yeah, you're right... Thanks."

Her hand went to my shoulder and squeezed, "No problem. I'm here for you if you need any more abuse."

"Ha-ha-ha!"

She suddenly glared at me, the comforting grip on my shoulder becoming vice-like, "End up here again and I'll hurt you so badly you'll have no choice but to take a vacation." I froze, taken in by the vicious killing intent in her eyes, but then she grinned a huge grin and lifted her hand into a wave, "See ya!"

She left as if she hadn't just threatened to beat the snot out of me, chuckling at my reaction quietly. I swallowed hard and blushed a bit with embarrassment and mild shame. Odd, I'd never thought myself to be a masochist, but there I was with... stiffness. '_Dear lord, I am a pervert.'_

A few days later, I was fully recovered and kneeling down in front of the captain, reporting to receive a new assignment, "Tenth seat Sado Akio reporting, Commander."

She looked up from the papers she was reading, "Oh. There you are. You're going out of your first mission for the stealth force today aren't you. Well, I hope you perform up to your own expectations." she grinned, remarking how how I judged myself more harshly than she did.

"Yes, hopefully." I replied simply.

Her expression became more serious and she tapped the papers she was holding, "What I have here are reports of the last few squads I sent on this same mission. The target is a renegade shinigami accused of killing a subordinate. The original orders were just to capture him for questioning on the matter, but he killed almost the entire unit I sent after him. The orders were changed to execution so I sent the former tenth seat with a unit from the execution squad."

"Didn't go well I assume."

"Definitely not. Only the support member assigned to that unit came back and he barely lived to tell us what exactly happened. Not that any of the information was new. It was pretty much exactly what happened with the first unit."

"What's my target and what can you tell me about him?"

"Former ninth seat of squad three Edjon Morinaki. He's an expert at zanjutsu on the level of a third seat, the only thing that kept him at ninth seat was his spiritual pressure is only at ninth seat level. He'll be a problem for you to handle alone, so I will be sending the ninth seat of our squad with you. I'd send higher ranking squad members to crush him, but it wouldn't do any good in this case even if they were available. I need people with high level of skill for this, not just strength. Since you are our highest ranking counter specialist at the moment I think you and the ninth seat are the best for this mission."

"Thank you ma'am."

Yoruichi continued, "His sword is named 'Junan-nami', the Agony Wave. In shikai form it takes on the shape of a metal rod with a horizontal grip on one end. It's about the dimensions of a cane. The weapon's power explosively repels anything that the tip strikes. If the object has more mass, Edjon is propelled away from it instead. He has in fact mastered the use of this technique for mobility. I'd hate to think of the speed he'd be able to achieve if he had actually mastered flash step in addition to this skill, but we don't have to worry about that."

"How dependent is he on his shikai?"

She shook her head, "Not very. You won't be able to defeat him like you did Watanabe. Edjon is a ninth seat, two levels higher than your last opponent. Also don't forget that in most squads the gap between tenth and eleventh seats is larger than in the lower ranks."

"So this guy will be close to three times stronger than Watanabe?"  
"About. His sword skills will be much sharper as well."

I bowed low, "Thank you, Captain. I won't let you down."

"Dismissed." she grinned at me softly, "Good luck, I know you can do this."

Thankfully for me, the target was relatively easy to track to where he was, wandering in the woods. My superior in rank Toma Kensikei was also a skilled detector or spiritual pressures so it was doubly easy to locate Edjon Morinaki. He had his own sharp senses though and even masking our pressures didn't conceal our approach. He was ready with his sword drawn and in a loose and limber kendo stance with his back to a tree. Just reading the way his muscles were tensed would tell the keen observer he was well-trained and had a knack for footwork.

He smiled and adjusted his stance when we appeared, solidifying the position since he had figured out where we were coming from. "More stealth force members? I'm getting bored with you punks. Can't you give me a challenge?"

Toma turned to me, "Let me go first, Akio-kun, you can come in if if seems I can't win. If we're sending you into battle against an ninth I want you knowing as much as possible beforehand."

"Makes sense, sir. I'll be ready. I don't have flash step yet though, so don't count on that much speed."

"Just do you best and get good timing." approaching, Toma leveled his sword at the target, "This isn't normally our style, but it looks like we'll have a duel. I am Ninth seat of Squad 2, Toma Kensikei. I've come to execute you for several counts of murder."

His opponent nodded, breaking his stance by moving his sword down to the side and holding the blade pointed backwards away from Toma, "Former ninth seat of squad 3, Edjon Morinaki. But you know that already."

My eye instinctively went to Edjon's legs as they tensed, the pieces clicked in my head on their own moments before Edjon uttered a word silently, "Crash....

"Toma look out!"

"JUNAN-NAMI!" Edjon's sword transformed with startling speed and contacted with the tree behind him, propelling the rogue shinigami forward with unbelievable velocity.

Toma couldn't read the attack, I could see it in his eyes. He was helpless as Edjon threw all his velocity into a trust, the tip of the rod connecting with the force of not only one use of the weapon's power, but two. Toma was sent streaking backwards and hit a nearby tree with a sickening crack. It was dirty. A dirty kill. Toma was dead just like that from such a cheap move.

Ejon turned to me and grinned, resealing his sword, "That was easy."

"You cheating bastard! So that's how you killed the last tenth seat."

He laughed outright at that, "This is war my friend, there is no place for honor in war! As for that, aren't you guys supposed to be stronger than normal soul reapers? Was that a joke or something?"

Ignoring him I drew my blade in my usual reverse grip, "I am tenth seat of squad 2, Sado Akio and my sword demands your blood."

"Come then. I don't even need my shikai for some new trash like you."

I dashed forward, blocking his downward slash with a horizontal and stepping slightly to the side to try and catch him with the curve of my blade by swinging back the other direction, but he blocked very precisely with the handle of his blade. The report was right. His sword skills were sharp. He didn't have any gaps like Watanabe in his technique. The moves were right on the button.

Edjon pushed me back into a comfortable range for his style with a pucnhing motion with his hands, with still held his sword firmly. Trying to take advantage of the imbalance his push created, he came down with another downward attack at my neck. The attack crisp and tight, only a large a moton as required. No gaps. I could only block, there was no counter other than trying to attack before he could launch another of his own. But he intercepted that. His kendo style and stance were too compact, too defensively solid for me to get in. Whether I whirled and went for his kidneys or shifted to regualr grip and tried to dismember him, he blocked it.

He was too good, our speeds were too close. Attacking outright was useless without more speed in my motions. I had enough still, I was sure of it. If I could make him extend enough to allow for counterstrikes I could defeat his kendo, but it wasn't looking too good. He was a 9th seat. Equal in power and ability to a stealth force tenth seat. I needed my shikai release, but looking to our blades I knew I couldn't use it... not yet. He was still only using his sealed sword. I had to make him release. Had to make him use the weapon's power against me.

Stumbling back, it took a second for me to realize that he had scored a hit, a deep gash on my chest, which was better it could have been. I was lucky to still have my limbs. The rogue smirked at me, "One point for me. I have to admit though, you're pretty good. Counter specialist? I note your defense is rather tight, but you can't keep it up if you attack continuously. You're used to dropping people in one stroke aren't you?"

"Guilty as charged." I admited. Thinking of something, anything I could do to hit him, I found inspiration in the memory of his attack on Toma. Flash step was the key. I hadn't mastered it, bt I could due it at least. If I could manage to go the right direction, my poor stopping wouldn't matter. Since Edjon didn't know flash step at all, I could force him to use the speed of his shikai. If he realeased, so could I.

Gathering my spiritual pressure at my feet I went into motion, all my focus on control and precision. I swore to myself and my sword that if I ever did a flash step properly it would be the one I was making right then. Somehow, that determination worked, it wasn't the fastest falsh step in the world, but I was certain he lost sight of me for an instant, only enough time to get him square on the shoulder. I still wasn't too much faster than normal motion with it. But all I needed was a little, just enough that I could scare him and still control it.

"Flash step?" He muttered as I came at him again and again. His defense was too tight to score killing blows, but he retreated under the onslaught, putting his back to a tree, "Crash-"

I shifted my own blade in unison grabbing it by the talon on the guard, "Spread your wings-"

We started saying our sword names and the same time, "JUNAN-NAMI!"

"Tawakemono no Karasu!"

His cane-like weapon rocketed him towards me for a killing strike as my sowrd changed, from a normal sword into a four foot long shaft of wood with a long blade along the length, both ends of which hooked back towards me wen they passed the end of the shaft. There were three places to hold this bladed staff and a gap in the blade over the center grip. Admittedly, the weapon resembles a bladed bow with hooked ends but is held like a staff weapon.

When Edjon reached me with his attack, I brought one of these hooked ends down and took his striking hand off cleanly, the rest of the blade glided through his chest as I side-stepped. At the last instant before he passed me I brought the weapon around to take his head off with the hook on the other end. He was moving so fast that he was easier to cut through than butter and his blood was still going that fast as it sprayed out of is body, leaving a trail of blood that was freakish in length behind his body as the corpse struck a tree. I didn't see where severed head eventually stopped, in fact, I was later informed the clean-up squad couldn't find it.

I looked down at my weapon and it resealed, "Arrogant prick. I could have died you know? Why the hell does he have to unleash first?"

I knew the answer though. Even I agreed with the philosophy really. A fight shouldn't be determined by power, but by skill. If I couldn't beat someone only using their level of power, then I didn't deserve to win.

Dismiss the philosophy I hurried to Toma's side and checked him. There was no healing a dead man. That was true even if their death wasn't the best. I'd learn that lesson many times over in the following years of my life. All I could do for him was take his body back to the squad station and see to it that he was buried honorably. After all, I was somewhat to blame. If I had mastered flash step before the battle, I could have saved him. I owed him a burial, and owed him a killer flash step.

Next Chapter: Barracks

Today's Featured Weapon: "Tawakemono no Karasu" (Fool's Raven)

Sealed State: A slightly more curved version of the standard stealth force katana.

Shikai: The blade resembles a bladed bow with each end hooking back towards the wielder. It has three places you can grip, even though their size and position allows multiple combat styles the weapon is usually held like a staff. (Notably, the wielder cannot unseal the weapon unless the opponent is fighting at shikai power level).

Shikai Ability: (not yet revealed) As of this point, it appears to be a pure attack-type zanpakuto with a particularly lethal form, keen edge, and high versatility. (Spoilers) In fact in future chapters that is proven to be the case. It is seen to have the ability to be split in half and wielded as two weapons. Akio claims the power of his weapon is that – depending on how he holds it – it can be used in almost any combat style, making it one of the more powerful pure attack-type zanpakuto. While not incredibly strong compared to other shikai, in the hands of the right user it can be incredibly lethal.

Bankai: (not yet achieved)


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: In case it's not clear, this chapter takes place 4 years after the previous one and 6 years after the first chapter. In about 4 years (in-story of course) the events that lead to Urahara and Yoruichi leaving Soul Society will occur. That is also where this fic will conclude.

Chapter Three: Failed Innovation

"Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and tear out your own throat! Bakudo #9: Horin!"

In hot pursuit of a fleeing criminal, I whipped my hand forward on the last words, causing my pointer and index fingers to throw out an orange hued tendril with spiraling yellow patterns along its length. The end of it wrapped around my target and I controlled the length as I stopped for a fraction of a second, just long enough for the cord of spiritual energy to stretch like an elastic band, and then jumped forward, letting the spring of the cord pull the two of us towards each other. I focused my energy on a common variation of the movement technique used to walk on air, flash-stepping of a false wall made of a small amount of my spiritual energy. My timing adding to my velocity rather than taking any away. It also changed m direction slightly. Instead of going right at him, I instead flew past the man and the cord connecting us wrapped around his neck. Controlling the length again, I was yanked him roughly to the ground while his momentum was still carrying him forward.

I was already going for another binding kido, not bothering with the incantation, "Bakudo #4: Hainawa!" another cord of energy, a completely yellow one, flew out from my free hand and tied the man's hands to his sides. I ignored his coughing from being choked and protests, "Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and tear out your own throat! Bakudo #9: Horin!"

Though unneeded since I already had the kido active, I had thrown in a second incantation to reinforce the second cord that I fired at the targets legs. It would also make the cord last longer before wearing off. With both my hands occupied with kido however, it gave the other two renegade reapers – the ambush the first was being bait for - more confidence than it should have. Having been following the chase from what they thought was far enough away, they sprang from different sides of me. As if such a thing would give them an advantage. Instead I simply flash stepped behind one, which resulted in him being partly wrapped by one of the kido cords. While they were reacting to the move and struggling to kill their momentum I threw both cords around them and rapidly flash stepped around them, tying them up.

The fourth of the group actually made me release my grip on the energy cords as he darted from what had been behind me. He was quick, but desperation makes for poor swordsmanship. I just thrust my hand out and thrust my palm out, connecting with the pommel of his weapon and stopping his downward swing at the very start. It was a common counter to a common mistake of raising your hands "Too high."

I brought my blade in a reverse grip across in a slashing motion at his wrists, trying to reward his error with the removal of his hands. He was pretty sharp though and was able to retreat before the strike landed. Even more impressively he was able to parry me when I flash stepped straight at him and brought the curved edge of my blade back across for a follow-up strike. When he tried to retaliate though, he ended up taking a slash across the offending arm when I counterattacked instead of blocking.

"Agh!" he held up his sword, and I knew what he was going for, "Break the shore with unforgiving waves,"

So I did the same in near unison, "Spread your wings, Tawakemono no Karasu."

"Kudakeru Nami!" he punched forward and a geyser of water propelled a mace resembling a conch shell straight at me. The chain connecting the weapon to his hand was barely visible within the gout of rushing liquid.

I dodged, hooking the mace with one end of my weapon. I then followed through on the swing by going into a full rotation that yanked the weapon, and its wielder, towards me as I advanced. He didn't last long when I reached him and did the familiar dance of slashing across the abdomen with the length of my bladed staff, rotating again to catch his neck with one of the talon-like hooks at the end of the weapon, and decapitated him. At least the move would normally have killed him that way. I didn't have authorization to execute him though, so I changed the attacks direction at the end. A simple twist of my hips made the move a throw instead of a kill. On the way down I bound his arms with Hainawa.

I suddenly heard applause coming from a nearby rooftop and turned to see Captain Shihoin sitting on the building with a grin on her face, "Nice one, Sado. You haven't be resting on your laurels since your promotion I see."

I smiled back, "Of course not. I haven't even reached third seat yet, much less captain. I don't forget my goals."

"You've done good. All the way to fifth seat only six years out of the academy."

"Some reapers hit that rank right away."

"Only the freakish geniuses. You're only lucky enough to be a regular genius." my commander laughed.

"Did you came all this way just to check on me; or is there something else you need?" I quickly realized that, "That came out wrong. I don't mind the visit, I was just-"

Yoruichi-san rolled her eyes, "You haven't changed much in six years. Still socially awkward."

"Sorry."

She sighed, but then brushed the minor matter aside and stood up. She then released a signal and a contingent of the Punishment Force appeared a few moments later, "Take these criminals away. I have something to discuss with Fifth Seat Akio." The criminals I'd subdued were taken immediately and we were left to our conversation, "Anyway, Sado, you've come a long way in your six years under Soi-fon and she's been even more motivated since you arrived. I think the arrangement has done a lot of good for the both of you. That's why I'm here."

"Oh?"

"What would you say to taking on an apprentice yourself? You've hit the rank that Soi-fon was at when she started training you."

"I'd say no." I replied fast and frankly, "I'm not the teaching type."

"Neither is Soi-fon, but if you really would prefer not to-"

"I would."

Yoruichi smirked, "Then I have another proposition."

"Let's hear it."

"Let's spar."

I raised an eyebrow, confused, "Why? You're so far beyond me-"

"You've never seen me fight."

"You're a captain!"

"You're making presumptions. You should at least try and give it your all." she shifted her weight to her other leg and smiled, her manner reminding me of a cat, "How about I sweeten the deal? You hit me three times and I promote you to fourth seat. If you manage to take me off my feet twice and I'll promote you all the way to lieutenant."

"I assume that if I lose I have to take an apprentice?"

"No, that's if you score too few points. If you lose outright I'm going to demote you."

"HA! Why the heck would I take you up on this? There's no way I can beat you!"

She grinned again, "I only said you had to hit me or knock me down, not win. Plus I'll hold back a bit."

"Then how is that earning a promotion?"

"Hehehe, I won't hold back that much. Besides, aren't you curious? I see you watching me a lot, and I'm the closest measure you have to your goal of surpassing Kisuke."

I tensed at her mentioning the 'watching her' part. I'd hoped my crush on her hadn't been obvious, but thankfully she mistook it for something else. She was kind of right in one aspect of it though. I _was_ curious about exactly where I stood compared to her after training like a mad fiend for years. The same sentiment coming from my zanpakuto brought some questions to mind that needed answering.

"Is this going to be hand-to-hand only; or with zanpakuto?"

"Zanpakuto. I want to see the full range of your skills." she pointed at my sword, "That's something I'm curious about. In six years I have never seen you release your sword. The only stories I hear about it don't reveal anything about its abilities."

"It doesn't really have any remarkable magical powers like water rocket maces or instant death symbols. It's just a weapon."

"Then I want to see how well you use it."

I sighed, licking myself mentally for what I was about to get myself into, "Fine. Let's go."

She drew her sword and I did the same, both of us using a reverse grip. When I saw she wasn't going to release her shikai I looked at my sword and silently asked it if it was okay to release mine. Unfortunately, it wasn't. Yoruichi seemed to notice something was up, "Something wrong? Go ahead and release your zanpakuto."

"I... can't."

"Huh?"

"It won't let me release for a spar or without even releases."

"It won't _let_ you?" Yoruichi glanced briefly at her weapon, "I'm a captain. No offense, Sado, but I don't need my shikai to match yours."

"Sadly my sword doesn't care about spiritual pressure or ranks, even though that makes no sense. It's a bit of a stubborn coot that thinks opponents have to prove their skill to it, even though your rank proves your skill."

"That's... dumb."

"It's called _Fool's_ Raven for a reason, I won't deny being foolish and the sword is always a manifestation of a part of the soul reaper."

The captain took a combat stance, "I'll get the proving out of the way quickly then."

"Oh crap."

Yoruichi vanished completely from my sight and I immediately stabbed where the standard assassination strike came from after such a move. I was on target, but my opponent wasn't where I was aiming. Instead she was crouched low and going for a leg sweep sweep. It was an effortless feint exploiting my training and preference for counter strikes.

"Good reflexes, but-" Yoruichi began as I started falling, but when I turned in mid fall and rotated to slash at her with the fall, she stopped and vanished again, putting some distance between us. When she reappeared, she briefly touched her cheek and looked at the blood from the cut with a stunned expression, "What the heck? That rotation was a lot faster than I expected."

I was already back on my feet. In fact I'd caught myself before hitting the ground, "It's a little something I've been working on for a few months."

She grinned, "Clearly I was holding back too much."

Gone again, this time I flash stepped straight backwards, focused on using my sense for spiritual pressure rather than my sight. It was something that years of training under someone much faster than me had taught me to do. Following that sense I flash stepped suddenly again, avoiding Yoruichi's attack. I saw her only briefly before she vanished again and it that same moment I moved to kick off of a thin layer of projected spirit energy, and stabbed in the direction I was going. I hit nothing, but avoided a downward strike from Yoruichi, who appeared slightly to the left of where I kicked off from. Again she put distance between us. I would've felt proud, but it was obvious she was sizing me up and barely trying. I was using some of my best techniques just avoiding her _prodding_ at me.

"You've gotten awfully good at shunpo in the past four years. Heck, Soi-fon just picked that little trick up recently and she's two seats higher than you."

"I work hard."

"I noticed. Your still a fair bit slower than her, but you've matched the fourth seat in speed and the third in application." I shifted her weight and her smile got wider, "If you keep this up I might actually have to start being serious."

"I get the feeling you won't be letting me get three points on you."

"Hehe." She disappeared again.

I flash stepped like I had never flash stepped before. I kept moving as fast as I could, but when Yoruichi appeared, many of her appeared. She was going so much faster than I was than she was creating illusions of herself. Focusing on detect her energy wasn't helping either. She'd picked up on that and was broadening her aura or something. It was literally coming from everywhere.

Something, some feeling welled up inside me, equally parts fear and determination, "Spread your wings!" I brought my sword around in a spinning slash, applying the same speed ramping technique I'd used before, "Tawakemono no Karasu!"

My shikai released and my purely instinctive slash bore down on a figure of Yoruichi that was thrusting her sword at me. It abandoned the attack and pulled away a fraction of a second before the gap over the center grip of my weapon would have caught her blade and disarmed her. A third time Yoruichi backed off to comment and reset the momentum of the fight.

"There we go. Your sword came out and you've got a serous look on your face. It can tell b the look it your eyes that Karasu wants a piece of this too now. You've got your full spiritual pressure ready to go. Let's do this."

"Ladies first."

"As if you could take the first move." she joked, then came straight at me.

I parried the slash with a sweep of one of the hooks on the end of Karasu, then went to that familiar slash move. The one that ended with a decapitating followup. Yoruichi however, rotated under the move and elbowed me in the gut, sending me flying down the street several yards. I landed in a crouched position entirely because Karasu willed it so strongly. It might as well have taken my body and done it for me, but there was no time to dwell on that. Yoruichi was in my face again the moment I landed, and she toyed with me by going for an identical strike. I countered a different way though, one she wouldn't expect. I applied the technique I had used to speed up my spinning strikes to ramp up the velocity of a throw. I threw half of Karasu at the ground at incredible speed, a chain forming to link the two halves together. That chain contacted with her sword, and Karasu wrapped around it. The thrown end whipped around and hit her forward leg as I turned and pulled at the end still in hand as if doing a shoulder throw. It failed to disarm her, but it made her strike miss and for a fourth time she backed away.

"So it separates?" she laughed, "I didn't expect tha-" her expression turned to concern as she saw me doubled over in pain, "Sado, what's wrong? I didn't hit you."

"Dammit! Agh!" I struggled to keep my footing as my sword resealed and I grabbed my wrist. When Yoruichi came over to check it, she could tell right away that, "I broke my hand!"

"It must have been that speed technique. What did you do?"

"I poured a lot of spiritual energy directly into my arm to throw faster."

"What? That's..."

"I've never done it in that small an area of my body." I felt around on the injured limb, "Dammit, I think I shattered every single bone from my wrist down!"

"You shouldn't do that kind of thing. Forcing your energy makes it push back." the captain started casting a healing kido, "This should help a bit, but we need to get you to a medic right away."

I nodded.

"You are unbelievably stupid, Fourth Seat Sado."

I didn't actually notice the off-handed promotion until a few hours later.

Next Chapter: Calm Before the Storm

A/N: Short chapter I know, but like I said in the description this is mainly just little slices of the life of an original character. Despite the length, the chapter actually establishes several things that will be relevant later. I intend to have longer chapters in future updates and next chapter will be more about him as a person rather than his fighting abilities. Also, in case you are curious, Sado Akio will in fact be appearing in my other Bleach fic (which takes place a century after this fic during the regular events of the anime).


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